Many factors affect the strength and durability of eyebolts, anchor bolts, lifelines, scaffold ties, stud anchors, resin bolts and safety wires, etc., making it vital that such fixings, fasteners, and anchors are regularly checked against required stress load levels. Oftentimes, a visual inspection is not sufficient, and pull-out testers are employed to gauge fixing/fastener integrity.
Pull-out testers enable engineers to confirm the holding power of fixings, fasteners, and anchors secured in most base construction materials. Pull-out testing is performed to establish the tensile strength of fasteners that have been installed or fitted into walls, ceilings, and/or other surfaces and are vital for commercial buildings, railways, airports, and more. Pull-out testing generally involves attaching a hand-held piece of equipment to a bolt, nut, screw, fixing, or other fastener member before pulling to the designated stress load level to determine how strong and secure the fixing is. This type of testing enables early diagnosis of potential strength problems before they become larger risks or liabilities.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of two technicians performing a fastener strength test according to the current standard of manual and analog pull-out testing, recording, and reporting, as it exists in the prior art. Currently, pull-out testing results are recorded via a manual process that requires the testing technician to take visual readings from an analog load gauge 10 and a corresponding stop watch 12 before manually recording those readings with pen and paper 14. Using this prior art method, proof or confirmation of testing is not available (e.g., date, time, duration or time frame, location, etc.), testing generally requires at least two technicians, and testing results and reporting are subject to human error, as well as delays required to electronically transcribe the results for client viewing.